Month: November 2018

EP2683: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Skidmore Matter

Mandel Kramer

Johnny is sent out to help the show’s writer/producer’s brother with a case of stolen farming/construction equipment.

Original Air Date: April 22, 1962

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EP2682: Boston Blackie: Where Oh Where Has My Mary Gone

Richard Kollmar

Blackie goes to Mary’s apartment after sending her to spy on a gangster and finds another woman living there who claims not to know who Mary is.

Original Air Date: December 24, 1947

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EP2681: Rocky Jordan: The Coward of Mutah Kahn

Jack Moyles

Rocky is summoned by a respected old man who has a knife in and wants Rocky’s help fulfilling his last request.

Original Air Date: July 24, 1949

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EP2680: Stand by for Crime: Prisoners of the Revolution

Glenn Langan

Chuck Morgan and Carol go to cover a revolution in South America where Chuck finds out he’s a dead-ringer for the country’s ousted President.

Original Air Date: 1952

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EP2679: Mister Keen: The Case of Murder and the Missing Car

So lost, I'm fading

photo credit: Greyframe So lost, I’m fading viaphotopin (license)

A wealthy man’s car disappears. When he gets back, the man discovers his daughter’s boyfriend’s body in the back of the car.

Original Air Date: May 11, 1950

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Video Theater 0144: Boston Blackie: Shoot the Works

A gambler friend of Blackie is murdered in Las Vegas while placing a big bet.

Season 2, Episode 24

Original Air Date: March 27, 1953

Radio Show Review: The Johnson Wax Program

Radio’s big comedy shows often went on Summer break.  In World War II, this was especially true as many comedians used their time off the air to continue working with USO and entertaining the Troops. In 1942, the hit Fibber McGee and Molly show went on Summer Vacation, but their sponsors, Johnson’s Wax, decided to continue to sponsor the Johnson’s Wax Program.

Johnson’s Wax could have chosen to do a typical summer musical program, with a nice singer and nice songs. Some of these series circulate. They’re pleasant if you like that sort of thing, but utterly forgettable and indistinguishable from each other. The Johnson’s Wax Program of the Summer of 1942 was different. Yes, it featured two talented singers in Connie Haines and Bob Carroll. It also featured two great and unique radio talents: Composer, arranger, and bandleader Meredith Willson and storyteller John Nesbitt.

Willson led the band for many variety shows and comedies that required him to play a role. Invariably it would be that of the dunce. However, that stage persona had little connection to his musical work. His music was filled with great arrangements and intriguing ideas for new compositions. He did great work on the Maxwell’s House Good News program in the late 1930s and early 1940s. However, I think his best work in the golden age of radio would be a few years later in The Big Show, a 90-minute radio program that aired from 1950-52.

John Nesbitt was a storyteller. His series of radio programs and MGM movie shorts called The Passing Parade told true stories almost too amazing to be believed. Yet, each fact was fully verified with the scripts being written by Nesbitt himself. The stories were not only surprising but often touch the hearts and minds of the listener with Nesbitt’s skillful reading. The best comparison I can think of for Baby Boomers is Paul Harvey’s Rest of the Story broadcasts, only a bit more dramatic.

Tother Willson and Nesbitt complimented each other’s work. Throughout the summer series, Willson played a series of “lost melodies.” These melodies had been meant for greatness but forgotten or laid aside for one reason or another. Nesbitt told the story of each lost song. Willson meanwhile scored Nesbitt’s stories, matching the stories with solid music (when required.)

The tone of the series, both in Nesbitt’s stories, as well as in its announcements reflected the Spirit of 1942. America was a Nation that was less than a year removed from Pearl Harbor, whose Atlantic merchant ships were under constant danger from U-Boats, and was moving to a firm war footing. Nesbitt turns his full rhetorical powers on the Axis Powers several times and it is stirring, particularly his “letter” to Adolf Hitler.

The series ran for thirteen weeks. Twelve episodes are in circulation. The only bad thing about the series is that the circulating episodes, while clear, are not the highest quality.  Still, if you’re wanting great music, great story, and some solid singing, this is a series that’s well worth checking out.

 

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The twelve existing episodes of the Johnson’s Wax program are available for free online here.

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EP2678: Dragnet: The Big Broad

Jack Webb

Friday and Slats Henry investigate a series of liquor store robberies.

Original Air Date: february 9, 1954

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EP2677: Yours Truly Johnny Dollar: The Wrong Idea Matter

Mandel Kramer

Johnny is called in to help an insured woman who’s afraid her ex-convict husband will fulfill a pledge made at trial to pay her back.

Original Air Date: April 15, 1962

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EP2676: Boston Blackie: The Wrong Henry Williams Killed

Richard Kollmar

A philanthropist named Henry Williams is killed and a gangster named Henry Williams suspects that he was the actual target and turns to Blackie for help.

Original Air Date: December 3, 1947

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EP2675: Rocky Jordan: The Race

Jack Moyles

A woman warns Rocky a bomb is going to explode in a pawn shop. The bomb goes off and she tells them another one will go off in half a day and she doesn’t know where it is.

Original Air Date: July 17, 1949

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EP2674: Stand by For Crime: Queenie’s $10,000 Alibi

Glenn Langan

Chuck Morgan finds a woman in his apartment who gives him $10,000 to say he was with her eight days earlier.

Original Air Date: 1952
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EP2673: Mister Keen, Tracer of Lost Persons: The King Cobra Murder Case

So lost, I'm fading

photo credit: Greyframe So lost, I’m fading viaphotopin (license)

A woman is killed by a Cobra aboard a cruise ship.

Original Air Date: May 4, 1950

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AWR0059: Elgin Thanksgiving Special

Amazing World of Radio

The sixth annual two-hour long Thanksgiving special. Hosted by Don Ameche. Featuring Jimmy Durante, Garry Moore, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Larry Storch, and more.

Original Air Date: November 26, 1947

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DVD Review: Murdoch Mysteries, Season 1

The Murdoch Mysteries series is based on characters in novels by Maureen Jennings. The series stars Yannick Bisson as Detective William Murdoch. In early twentieth century Toronto, the detective’s innovative methods solve baffling crimes.
 
The first season featured thirteen episodes. The series features robust mysteries that don’t feature obvious solutions. Instead, the mysteries are complex with plenty of twists along the way. The first season features historical figures from the era. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Geraint Wyn Davies) appears as does Nicola Tesla. (Dmitri Chepovetsky)
 
The strong principal cast gels together in Season 1. Helene Joy plays pathologist Doctor Julie Ogden. Thomas Craig is Inspector Thomas Brackenridge. Finally, Johnny Harris is Constable George Crabtree. The Constable is wet behind the ears but enthusiastic.
 
The series includes many neat historical details that add credibility to the series. The gorgeous design and cinematography bring home the feel of the era.
 
The first season isn’t without its flaws. A couple times, modern sensibilities intrude into an era where they didn’t exist. This takes viewers out of the story. The show should’ve stuck to issues raised in the era. For example, the suffragettes, temperance, and freed American slaves. The series did best when exploring those sort of situations.
 
The series establishes Murdoch as a Catholic in the first episode. In the second, it establishes, at the time, he couldn’t get promoted because of his faith. From there, the series creates many situations to challenge Murdoch’s faith. Doing this once could be interesting and is fair game. Doing this repeatedly during the first season was repetitive. Further, the writers strained to give Murdoch personal stakes his cases. A ridiculous number of cases involve people Murdoch knows or his personal issues.
 
Overall, the Murdoch Mysteries first season got off to a promising start. It has good action, great production values, and well-crafted mysteries. Intrusive modern issues and a couple overdone plot lines did hamper the series. Still, if you can stomach those flaws, and you’re a Victorian-era mysteries fan, it’s worth watching.
 
Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

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